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Taking refuge in beige

By Donna Duggan |
May 2, 2013

Taking refuge in beige

Taking refuge in beige

A few weeks ago, I received a sample of Chanel’s new Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder, which is due to hit beauty counters on May 12. If that one product is anything to go by, Chanel is in for a stellar year.

The Les Beiges Powder is the first product from a new collection from Chanel. While it seems other beauty brands are focusing on BB creams to solve the problem of creating luminous skin for the time-poor, Chanel is once again going in a new direction with Les Beiges.

Peter Philips is the mastermind behind the product which can be used on its own to give your skin a healthy glow, or it can be used in addition to your usual beauty routine to set your foundation, as a finishing powder, or for contouring. Unlike many bronzers on the market, Les Beiges is so finely milled it provides a very even colour and coverage. No colour clumping here. It also has the bonus of being SPF15.

What really separates Les Beiges from the many foundations and bronzers on the market is the colour. The compact comes in seven matte shades from 10 (light) to 70 (darkest), but what they all have in common is – surprise, surprise – a beige tone. If your face looks ghostly white in photographs when you wear foundation, Les Beiges can rectify the problem. If you hate the heavy coverage of foundation, you will love the very light coverage of Les Beiges, which feels even lighter than a tinted moisturiser.

If you find a bronzer just makes you look orange, give the Les Beiges powder a whirl. When light hits a foundation or bronzer, it usually throws a blue or orange light, whereas Les Beiges throws a natural beige colour. While the colour beige has a poor reputation for being boring – when it comes to skin tone, it can do wonders for hiding a dull complexion. Beige is also one of the signature colours of the House of Chanel, with Mademoiselle Chanel once saying, “I take refuge in beige because it’s natural.”

Chanel is making another bold statement with this collection, moving away from the iconic black lacquer casing and replacing it with a stunning beige case embossed in black. The rest of the collection isn’t rolling out until next year, but I’m pretty content with the Les Beiges powder until then.